Reginald Hudlin

Reginald Alan Hudlin (born December 15, 1961) is an American film screenwriter, director and producer and a comic book writer.[1] Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers.[2] From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was President of Entertainment for Black Entertainment Television (BET). Hudlin has also written numerous graphic novels.[3] He co-produced the 88th Academy Awards ceremony in 2016 as well as other TV specials. Hudlin's breakout film was 1990's House Party,[4] and he worked as a producer on Quentin Tarantino's 2012 film, Django Unchained, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He also directed the 1992 film Boomerang.

Reginald Hudlin
Hudlin at the 2017 New York Comic Con
Born
Reginald Alan Hudlin

(1961-12-15) December 15, 1961
Centreville, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesReggie Hudlin
OccupationFilm director
Writer
Producer
Years active1983–present
Known forHouse Party
Django Unchained
Home townEast St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Chrisette Suter
(
m. 2002)
Children2
RelativesWarrington Hudlin (brother)

Early life

Hudlin was born in Centreville, Illinois, the son of Helen Hudlin (née Cason), a teacher who worked in special education, and Warrington W. Hudlin, Sr., an insurance executive and educator.[1]:234 Hudlin's older brother, Warrington Hudlin, is also a film director, as well as an actor and producer. Hudlin is the youngest, with middle brother, Christopher Hudlin, working with their father in the insurance business.

The Hudlins grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, where the family had deep roots.[5] The Hudlin Brothers are paternal great-great-grandsons of Peter and Nancy Hudlin, who were part of the Underground Railroad. Their great uncle was an influential tennis instructor named Richard A. Hudlin, who mentored Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson.[6]

The Hudlins attended Katherine Dunham's Center for the Performing Arts, an experimental school, Warrington for high school and Reginald for after school martial arts classes.[7] Hudlin has said that the experience was formative, and led to his older brother attending Yale University, and his attending Harvard University.[8] In 1979, Hudlin graduated from Assumption High School in East St. Louis.[9]

While an undergraduate at Harvard University, Hudlin directed his thesis project, a short film called House Party, which went on to receive numerous awards including first place at the Black American Cinema Society Awards.[10] The film was inspired by his experience growing up in East St. Louis. In 1983, Hudlin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a B.A. in Visual and Environmental Studies.[8] His short film thesis was the basis for his first feature film, House Party.[11]

Career

After college, Hudlin and his brother formed a production company and made music videos for such artists as Heavy D, Jamaica Boys, and others.[1]:234 They were responsible for making the classic "Hey Love" 1980s-era TV commercial for a various-artists record, that played regularly on late night TV.[12][13]

Hudlin directed—with older brother Warrington producing—his first feature-length film, 1990's low-budget teen hip-hop comedy House Party, which starred Kid 'n Play. One of the messages of the film was its promotion of safe sex. The film, distributed by New Line Cinema, was, according to Variety, one of the most profitable films of the decade.[14] New Line wanted to make sequels, but the Hudlins did not feel the compensation or deals were adequate.[15]:446

Hudlin went on to direct 1992's Boomerang, again with older brother Warrington producing. The film was a big-budget romantic comedy that starred Eddie Murphy, who had a term deal at Paramount Pictures and hired the Hudlin Brothers because he liked House Party. It starred an all-black cast that included Robin Givens, Halle Berry, Martin Lawrence, David Alan Grier, and Chris Rock.[12][16] Boomerang was based on an original idea by Murphy and was written by Saturday Night Live writers Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield.[17]

A celebration of the 25th anniversary of Boomerang's release was held on July 1, 2017, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., with a conversation between Hudlin and producer George Alexander.[18][19]

In 1992, while making Boomerang, Hudlin directed the first Black animated film, Bébé's Kids, which was championed by Paramount's Brandon Tartikoff, and was made in memory of comedian Robin Harris, who had died in 1990.[17]

In 1994, the Hudlin Brothers produced the HBO anthology multi-ethnic horror series Cosmic Slop, of which Hudlin directed the episode "The Space Traders." It was an adaptation of a Derrick Bell short story found in his book Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism.[20][21]

He went on to direct The Great White Hype, The Ladies Man, Serving Sara (2002), two episodes of the TV series Modern Family, an episode of The Office, an episode of The Middle, and several episodes of Outsourced. He was also a recurring producer and director of The Bernie Mac Show for three years.

From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was the President of Entertainment for BET. Notable shows shepherded by Hudlin at that time included the documentary series American Gangster and Sunday Best, a gospel-music singing-competition show. Hudlin created The BET Honors and the BET Hip Hop Awards.

During the time that he was President of BET, Hudlin wrote many of the Marvel Comics series Black Panther from 2005 to 2008, most notable for the 2006 storyline "Bride of the Panther," which saw the character marry X-Men leader Storm.

Hudlin was one of the producers of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, starring Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson. On January 10, 2013, Hudlin received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture for the film.[22]

Since 2013, Hudlin has executive-produced the NAACP Image Awards. The show attained its highest rating on NBC in 2013, then became the highest-rated show in the history of TV One in 2014. Hudlin produced a number of TV specials, including the 88th Academy Awards, hosted by Chris Rock.

In 2014, Hudlin produced the Black Movie Soundtrack celebration of Black music in movies, held at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl, and hosted by Craig Robinson. Black Movie Soundtrack II, also hosted by Robinson, was held in 2016.[23]

In 2015, it was announced that Hudlin and artists Denys Cowan and Derek Dingle would be part of the relaunch of Milestone Media, the comic book company founded by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, and Derek Dingle.[24][25]

In 2015, Hudlin joined the board of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization founded in 1986 chartered to protect the First Amendment rights of the comics community.[26]

In June 2017, it was announced that Hudlin would be directing an upcoming movie based on the comic Shadowman.[27]

In October 2017, Hudlin's film, Marshall, about Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice, starring Chadwick Boseman, was released.[19] The screenplay was penned by Michael Koskoff and Jacob Koskoff, and co-stars Josh Gad. The film was made in Buffalo, New York.[28]

Hudlin contributed a story to the Black Panther Annual #1, released in February 2018.[29]

In July 2019, it was announced that Hudlin was directing an upcoming Walt Disney Pictures film, titled Safety, which would be released on Disney+.[30]

Personal life

In 2002, Hudlin married Chrisette Hudlin (née Suter), a public relations consultant, in Montego Bay, Jamaica.[31][32] They have two children.[33]

Filmography
Films
TV movies
  • 1994: Cosmic Slop – Executive Producer, Director (segment: "Space Traders")
TV specials
TV series

Awards

Leadership and membership

Works and publications
Graphic novels
  • McGruder, Aaron; Hudlin, Reginald; Baker, Kyle (illustrations) (2004). Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-1-400-08316-9. OCLC 54857618.
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Romita Jr., John (penciler); Janson, Klaus (inker); White, Dean (colors) (2005). Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-11748-3. OCLC 780282040.
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Tan, Billy (pencils); Buckingham, Mark (pencils) (2005). Marvel Knights Spider-Man [Vol. 04], Wild Blue Yonder. New York: Marvel Comics. ISBN 978-0-785-11761-2. OCLC 830159672. – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Marvel Knights Spider-man #13-18
  • David, Peter; Straczynski, J. Michael; Hudlin, Reginald; Wieringo, Mike (artist); Deodato, Mike (artist); Lee, Pat (artist) (2006). Spider-Man: The Other. New York: Marvel Pub. ISBN 978-0-785-12188-6. OCLC 62714568.
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Eaton, Scot (pencils) (2006). Black Panther: The Bride (Direct ed.). New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12107-7. OCLC 948817543.
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Eaton, Scot (penciler); Garcia, Manuel (penciler); Turnbull, Koi (penciler); To, Marcus (penciler) (2007). Black Panther: Civil War. New York, NY: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12235-7. OCLC 144224099.
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Portela, Francis (pencils) (2007). Black Panther: Four the Hard Way. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12655-3. OCLC 751756495. – Contains material originally published in single magazine form as: Black Panther #26-30
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Portela, Francis (penciler); Rodriguez, Carlos (penciler); Sharpe, Kevin (penciler); Cafu (penciler); Portela, Francis (inks); Hennessy, Bit & Andrew (inks); Staples, Val (colors) (2008). Black Panther: Back to Africa. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12452-8. OCLC 540015636. – Also includes Black Panther: Black to the Future
    • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Stroman, Larry (pencils); Lashley, Ken (pencils); Paris, Roland (inks); Cuevas, Carlos (inks); Sibal, Jon (inks); Milla, Matt (colors); Staples, Val (colors); Petit, Cory (letters) (2008). Black Panther: Black to the Future. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12452-8. OCLC 540015636.
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Portela, Francis (art) (2008). Black Panther: Little Green Men. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-12657-7. OCLC 191890888. – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Black Panther #31-34
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Neary, Paul (inks); Lashley, Ken (pencils) (2009). Black Panther: The Deadliest of the Species. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-13342-1. OCLC 765104721. – Collecting Black Panther #1-6
  • Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Cowan, Denys (pencils) (2010). Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers. New York: Marvel Worldwide. ISBN 978-0-785-14401-4. OCLC 780283834.
  • Maberry, Jonathan (writer); Hudlin, Reginald (writer); Conrad, Will (art) (2010). Black Panther: Power. New York: Marvel. ISBN 978-0-785-13861-7. OCLC 437299872. – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Black Panther #7-12
  • Tarantino, Quentin (adapted from the original screenplay by); Hudlin, Reginald (adaptation); Guéra, R.M. (art by); Latour, Jason (art by); Cowan, Denys (art by); Žeželj, Danijel (art by); Floyd, John (art by) (2014). Django Unchained. New York: Vertigo. ISBN 978-1-401-24709-6. OCLC 877860979. – Originally published in single magazine form in DJANGO UNCHAINED 1-7
  • Maberry, Jonathan (writer); Hudlin, Reginald (writer; Conrad, Will (artist); Eaton, Scot (artist); Moll, Shawn (artist); Gugliotta, Gianluca (artist) (2017). Black Panther: Doomwar. New York: Marvel Worldwide, Inc. ISBN 978-1-302-90416-6. OCLC 951950784. – Contains material originally published in magazine form as Doomwar #1-6
Selected writing
gollark: I think they use spidermonkey.
gollark: Most domains seem to be available for basically that price, sure.
gollark: There are other benefits, like generally mildly increasing the security of the internet.
gollark: HTTPS is free and very easy to set up, so you probably should anyway.
gollark: Not correct. Any registrar can sell any domain under any top level domain they have access to, subject to its rules.

See also

References
  1. Donalson, Melvin Burke (2003). "Chapter 9: Not Without Laughter: Directors of Comedy and Romance, Chapter 10: Off the Hook: Comedy and Romance with a Hip-Hop Flavor". Black Directors in Hollywood. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-79875-5. OCLC 55731956.
  2. Hudlin, Reginald; Hudlin, Warrington; Glicksman, Marlaine (May 1990). "They Gotta Have It". Film Comment. 26 (3): 65–69. JSTOR 43454842.
  3. Encarnacion, Jonathan (13 April 2005). "Uncompromising Articulation: Reginald Hudlin". Silver Bullet Comic Books. Archived from the original on 25 November 2005.
  4. Hudlin, Reginald; Hudlin, Warrington; Kantor, Michael (1990). "Tearing the Roof Off the Sucker: An Interview with Reginald and Warrington Hudlin". Cinéaste. 18 (1): 22–23. JSTOR 41687018.
  5. Greenberg, James (4 March 1990). "In Hollywood, Black Is In". The New York Times.
  6. Franklin, Donald E. (27 February 2000). "Its History Rides on the Underground Railroad". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis. p. C.1. ISSN 1930-9600. ProQuest 40400223.
  7. Elliott, Debbie; Dryden, Jim; Dunham, Katherine (27 May 2006). "Katherine Dunham Helped Teach the World to Dance" (Audio interview). NPR.
  8. "The Reginald Hudlin Story". Hudlin Entertainment.
  9. "Metro East native Reginald Hudlin receives Oscar nod for 'Django'". The St. Louis American. 11 January 2013.
  10. Thomas, Kevin (27 January 1986). "Winning Black Videos, Films Highlight Youth". Los Angeles Times.
  11. $hort, Too; Loco, Bobby (8 March 2017). "Writer / Director Reginald Hudlin" (Audio podcast). Too $hort's Boombox. PodcastOne.
  12. Gross, Terry (10 July 1992). "Fresh Air with Terry Gross, July 10, 1992: Interview with Warrington Hudlin and Reginald Hudlin" (Audio, starts at 36:13). Fresh Air. NPR. OCLC 971502139.
  13. ""Hey Love" 1980s TV Commercial - No My Brother". 1980s.
  14. Hudlin, Reginald (10 September 2000). "If It's a Question of Money . . ". Los Angeles Times.
  15. Alexander, George (2003). "Reginald Hudlin". Why We Make Movies: Black Filmmakers Talk About the Magic of Cinema. New York: Harlem Moon. ISBN 978-0-307-41959-0. OCLC 53445264.
  16. Dowd, Maureen (28 June 1992). "FILM; He's Never Been Happier, or More Glum". The New York Times.
  17. Morales, Wilson (1 July 2012). "Exclusive: Director Reginald Hudlin talks Boomerang 20 Years Later, Black Panther, and producing Django Unchained". BlackFilm.com.
  18. House, Jermaine; Hernandez, Shrita (29 June 2017). "African Americans and the Advertising Industry Series Leads the National Museum of African American History and Culture July Programming" (Press release). National Museum of African American History and Culture.
  19. Ekokobe, Reggie (1 July 2017). "Exclusive: Director Reginald Hudlin talks "Boomerang" 25 Years Later, "Marshall," and More". First Klass Breakfast.
  20. Meisler, Andy (7 November 1994). "Using Fun to Show Blacks to Whites". The New York Times.
  21. Bell, Derrick (1992). "Chapter 9: The Space Trader". Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism. New York, NY: BasicBooks. pp. 158–194. ISBN 978-0-786-72323-2. OCLC 904402741.
  22. Dowell, Masha (14 February 2013). "Interview: Reginald Hudlin On His Oscar Journey, Working w/ RZA, Directing Again, More". IndieWire.
  23. Gardner, Chris (25 February 2016). "Oscar Producer Plans Second 'Black Movie Soundtrack' at the Hollywood Bowl". The Hollywood Reporter.
  24. Betancourt, David (21 January 2015). "EXCLUSIVE: Milestone Media rises again. Hudlin, Cowan and Dingle will revive company with eye toward characters of color". The Washington Post.
  25. Obenson, Tambay A. (4 August 2015). "Watch: Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cowan Talk Milestone 2.0 | IndieWire". Indiewire.
  26. Melrose, Kevin (March 11, 2015). "Reginald Hudlin Joins CBLDF Board of Directors". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  27. McMillan, Graeme (13 June 2017). "Reginald Hudlin to Direct Valiant's Supernatural Superhero Movie 'Shadowman' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  28. Hipes, Patrick (9 June 2016). "Open Road Acquires Thurgood Marshall Biopic Starring Chadwick Boseman". Deadline Hollywood.
  29. Sava, Oliver (February 15, 2018). "Iconic creators return to Wakanda in this Black Panther Annual exclusive". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018.
  30. 'Django Unchained' Producer Reginald Hudlin to Direct Sports Drama for Disney+ (Exclusive)
  31. Variety Staff (6 January 2003). "Chrisette Suter and Reginald Hudlin". Variety.
  32. Owens, Donna M. (13 January 2016). "California Attorney General Kamala Harris Plans to be America's Next Black Female Senator". Essence.
  33. Hudlin, Reginald (2016). "Top Ten Heroes of the Year". HudlinEntertainment.com.
  34. 'Django Unchained' Producer Reginald Hudlin to Direct Sports Drama for Disney+ (Exclusive)
  35. "Winners & Nominees 2013". Golden Globe Award. 2013.
  36. "Reginald Hudlin and Joss Whedon Are the Latest Comic-Con Icon Award Recipients!". Comic-Con International: San Diego. 29 July 2015.
  37. Galuppo, Mia (15 December 2015). "Oscars Producer Reginald Hudlin to be Honored at AAFCA Awards". The Hollywood Reporter.
  38. "Executive Board - Reginald Hudlin". UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. 2017.

Further reading
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